It has been a tumultuous time for the James Bond franchise. Questions about directors and screenwriters have abounded, and even when things seem to be solidly in place there is still the chance for upheaval. The latest on the as-yet untitled Bond 24 is the return of screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, who are coming back to do some apparently needed work on the script of their Skyfall co-writer, John Logan.
The Purvis and Wade issue began when the pair departed more than a year and a half ago, leaving scriptwriting duties solely to Logan. After some “polite turmoil,” the writers are now back to give some punch to Logan’s script, which just happens to be a reversal of the Skyfall situation, where Logan was brought in to work on their script. Purvis and Wade have been involved in the James Bond franchise since The World Is Not Enough, if you can remember that far back, and have been the forces behind some of the best (and worst) moments of the contemporary Bond films.
As a result of the re-writing, however, Bond 24 will reportedly be pushed back to a December start date. The film was supposed to have begun production in October in preparation for a Fall 2015 release date; what effect pushing it to December will have on the release remains to be seen. I think we can still hope for a new Bond film in 2015, but it’s going to be tight.
The Daniel Craig Bond movies have been credited with putting some grit into the franchise, in an attempt to return to Bond’s literary roots. However, that has meant a lack of interplay and humor in the recent films, with Skyfall being perhaps the most serious Bond flick ever made. The return of Purvis and Wade might mean some added humor, as the Daily Mail reports that the screenwriters are there to “sprinkle in more gags.”
Bond 24 is still scheduled to come to theaters in late 2015, but we’ll let you know if and when that changes.